Improvement in corn-planters



T. W. TYLER 8v W. C. BASKIN..

' Gom-Planter.

v 11n-versi: :a1/5.

No. 204,925.v

W-LEase- UNITED STATES. PATENT OEEIoE.

THOMAS W. TYLER AND WILLIAM C. BASKIN, OF HAMMOND, ILLINOIS.

IM PROVEM ENT IN CORN-PLANTERS.

VSpecification forming part of Letters Patent No. 204,925, dated June 18, 1878; application filed April 12, 1878.

act description of the invention7 such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had tov the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

Our invention relatesto an improvement in automatic corn-planters; and it consists in the arrangement and combination of parts that .will be more fully described hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings represent our invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a side'elevationof the same. Figs. 3 and 4. are detail views.I

a represents the axle; b, the two drivingwheels; c, the rectangular frame secured to thetop of the axle; d, the corn or seed boxes; e, the seed-slide; g, the furrow-openers, and h the tongue; and these parts maybe constructed in any way that-may be preferred.

Pivoted uponl the rear end of the frame is a shaft, f, to each end of which isl secured a scraper or cleaning device, t', for cleaning the dirt from the wheels b. Projecting upward from this shaft f is a short foot-lever, j, against which the driver, while sitting on the seat k, can press backward with one of his feet, so as to bring the cleaning devices in contact with the wheels whenever they need cleaning.

Upon one end of the axle, and upon the in- -ner side of the hub of one of the` wheels, .is formed the usuall clutch, so that the wheel can be thrown in and out of gear with the dropping mechanism whenever it is so desired. This clutch is connected to the hand-lever l, which reaches up beside the drivers seat, so that he can throw the dropping mechanism out of gear at any moment. Passing over the movable portion of -the clutch is the marker fm, which consists of a long straight rod or plate, having its ends bent at right angles, as.

shown. These ends reach just about to the edge of the wheel, and serve to mark each' hill where the corn has'been planted. As the machine moves over the` field .these flat bent ends make a distinct mark, so that a person can see at a glance afterward where every hill in the field `is located.-v Also secured to the movable part of `the clutch is a' wheel, n, which has notches formed all around its periphery, and projecting from its inner side are the two cams o, for operating the lever p and seedslide e. f These cams, it be seen, are bevi" for catching in the notches. in the edge of of the wheel n. In drawing this lever q backward the dog slipsy loosely over the notches; but the moment the lever is moved forward the dog catches in one of the notches, and

causes the wheel ato move forward and around.

As this wheel a operates the seed-slide altogether, it will readily be seen that the driver can so move the wheel that the seed-slide will drop at any desired point. If, in turning around at the endof the row and starting again on another row, the seed-slide should not be in position to drop exactly in a row withthe last seed dropped, the driver has simply to move the wheel naround, by means of the lever q and dog r, until the slide is just in that position where, if once started, it will drop the seed in the desired place. In the same manner he can adjust the dropping of the seed in the center of the iield or at any other point, so that he has the distance between the hills always absolutely under his control.-

The corn-boxes l are secured upon the top Y of the furrow-openers g inthe usual manner,

and are pivoted to the front ends of the frame o, as shown. Projecting rearwardly from each of thecorn-boxes is a foot-lever, s, which llevers are connected together neartheirr'ear ends by the bent rod t, which rod projects upward just in front of the extension u in front of the drivers seat k. The drivers seat k is formed uponthe rear endfof i tlielon g lever whichis pivotedbetween the perforated ears fw,

which rise upward from the top of the axle a.

rod, 9, which can be turned so as to project These ears have a series of holes through them, so that this lever can be adjusted to any height desired, and by means of` this adjustment control the depth to which the furrow openers shall enter the earth.

- To the front end of the lexlfer Vfuis secured a hook, w, which catches in a loop, y, and y thus acts to raise the furrow-openers upward A As the levers Ys, connected to the inner side of the corn-boxes, are connected together by the bent rod t, and as this bent rod catches.- inthe notches z formed upon the extension u, the driver can control, at will, whether the furrow-openers shall enter the earth one, two, orl more inches by catching the bent rod t in one of these ,notchesg As the weight of his feet bear downward upon the ends of the lever .s so as to raise the front ends of the furrow-openers upward, andas the seat-lever rises upward upon the rear ends of the furrow-openers, it will readily be seen that the driver can regulate and keep the furrow at the same uniform j i planter. ,they can be turned upward over the `top of depth all over the eld.

lnthe seed-boxes` are placed small blocks l,fto which are fastened the springs 2. These blocks rest upon the top ,of the ends ofthe seed-slides, and serve as cut-offs for the grain. u

f flat spring l2, which, catching against a projection upon the under sideof the seed-slide, causes the slide to snap back intofposition again after it has been movedby the lever p. t p Should it be desired to drill corn or other grain, the large camwheel o may be removed, and a wheel having a number of cams may be used in its stead. By making these cams close A The Asprings allow them a slight movement should the grains catch in the slide, and thus. i

preventthe dropping mechanism from getting out of repair. 4 l v Y vIn order to cause the grain to flow downward toward the hole in the seed-slide, an inclined plate, 3, is placed in the bottom of the box, as shown. As the seeds drop through the seed-slide they fall into the vertical tube 4, which projects downward through the inner side ofthe furrow-openers. At the lower end of this tube 4, and extending at right angles thereto, is another short tube, 5, inwhich works the piston 6. The' grains of corn drop down into this tube 5, just in front of the inner end of the piston, and then as the seed-slide snapsback into position this piston is suddenlyforced inward by the connecting-rod 7, so as to throw` the grain out of the tube` against the opposite side of the furrow-opener. As the grains strike the side of the :furrow-opener they ref claiml: In a seed-planter, the combination of the bound to the opposite side, and then fall into the furrow, scattered some little distance apart,

instead of being dropped in a wad, as is now the case with other corn-planters. By thus scattering them somewhat in the hill they grow without interfering with each other in the slightest degree. t

Secured to the rear side of the lower end of each of the furrow-openers are the two bent These rods cover the corn, and then the wheels tb pass ovenitfso as'to press the earth ti'ghtlyi beyond either side of the planter. Pivoted upon the outer end of this rod 9'is another rod,

l0, which hangs downward, and serves as a guide to indicate where the next row is to be planted. This rod l() does not reach quite to the ground, but hangs down over the track ni'n'ade by the wheel of the machine as it last 'moved across the field. By keeping this rod 10v hanging vertically over this track he will be guided for every succeeding row. Where this rod is made long enough toextend down H and catch in the ground a side pullis exerted lupon the machine, which makes it unsteady and uncertain in its action. i

`Upon the front end of each one of the fur- :row-openers is pivoted a rolling col'ter, 11,

Awhich may project downward, and serve to cut the sod, corn-stalks, and other obstructions f which may come in the way, and thus prevent them from catching under the furrow-openers and impeding the forward progress of the When these colters are not needed the furrow-openers, so that they will not be in together, the dropping mechanism will be made to operate rapidly, andwill thus drill the corn j instead of planting it in hills. t

f When it is desired to raise the furrow-openers entirely out of the ground in passingalong the road or from field to field, by hanging the connecting-rod t on theV top notch z the whole front part of the frame will be raised upward,

and it is immaterial whether the driver is upon I his seat or not. By thus being able to lift the furrow-openers entirely out of the ground they' l will be kept from much rust and useless wear.

Having thus described our invention, we

cogged wheel n, having the cams o, operating- I' lever q, provided with the dog r, rod or lever p,

and seed-slide e, and the operating-spring, the lever being connected to the slide and the slide being moved directly by the cams, as

shown and described.

2. The combination of the'movable part of the clutch, the wheel n, operating-lever q, dog r, marker m, and an operatin g-lever for throwing the clutch in and out of gear with the driving-wheel b, substantially as shown.

3. The combination of the foot-levers s, secured to the seed-boxes d, and having their i rear ends connected together by means of the bent rod t, with the extension u in front of the seat and notches zfor the rod to catch in, sub` scatter them on the ground, substantially as shown.

6. The combination of the box d, furrowopener g, tubes 4 5, piston 6, rod 7 seed-slide e, and operating spring, substantially as described.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing We have hereunto set our hands.

THOS. vW. TYLER. WILLIAM C. BASKIN.

Witnesses A. J. MYERS, W. A. LIsToN. 

